Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt is the leader of a cult known as The Wyatt Family, and frequently appears on WWE. He previously wrestled for WWE as Husky Harris, most notably as a member of The Nexus, and has held the Florida Tag Team Championship twice with Bo Dallas. Wyatt has made no secret of the fact that he was, or still technically is, Husky Harris"He needed me, and i needed a vessel", Bray Wyatt on his twitter. Retrieved January 17, 2013.. While many speculate on the true nature of these two identities, it is clear that Wyatt believes himself to be held within the body of the Husky Harris. It is unknown when Wyatt first emerged in Harris's life but the last public transition occurred at some point between March 15 "Champions Roll Call". Florida Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 3, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012. and April 22 of 2012Namako, Jason (April 27, 2012). "FCW Results – 4/22/12". WrestleView. Retrieved May 1, 2012.. A potent force in the ring, Bray Wyatt and his cultist faction have run rampant over the WWE, going toe to toe with such superstars as Lesnar, Triple H, the Shield, and the Undertaker. Early Life There is little information on the early life of Harris, other than the several versions recounted by Wyatt. Some common threads can be found within these different tales. Before the "Man in the Woods" Harris grew up in South Central Louisiana among other orphaned children of both genders, before being taken in by Sister Abigail who raised them at her cabin in an unknown location in the wilderness. Despite moving into isolation under the supervision of an adult, Wyatt described the situation as "freedom", though he added that the freedom had "a price" which he did not elaborateMan in the Woods. Bray Wyatt. Retrieved October 31, 2015.. Harris and the other male orphans appeared to be at home in the wilderness, often going hunting for rabbits with slingshots and relatively unfazed by the suspected presence of bears in their vicinity. "Man in the Woods" Regarded as the first pivotal moment in the duality of Harris and Wyatt, the encounter between Harris and the "Man in the Woods" has clearly left an impact that lasts to this day. Wyatt recalls that Harris chased what sounded like a strange bear, long after his friends had abandoned their rabbit hunt for fear, before meeting a pale, upright, seven foot man with cat-like eyes and long thin yellow hair reaching his knees, dragging an alligator in one hand. Recognizing the strange figure as the Man that Sister Abigail had warned about"Beware the man in the woods, for he is real and he is the Eater". Bray Wyatt. Retrieved October 31, 2015., Harris froze in terror and was discovered by the Man. Upon discovering the young boy, the Man offered him back the slingshot that Harris had been using to hunt and Harris managed to escape back to Sister Abigail's cabin. However, upon recounting the tale to Abigail, Harris was told that he himself was the "Man in the Woods". There has been speculation that Wyatt was a spirit that began to possess Harris from this encounter. Other theories suggest that "the price" paid by Harris and the other orphans for their "freedom" while being able to live in their cabin was the murder of Sister Abigail, with the murder weapon being Harris's slingshot and that the guilt of the murder had broken the boy's psyche. Professional wrestling career Florida Championship Wrestling (2009–2010) Harris attempted to reform his life in 2009, turning to professional wrestling with his brother, Bo. The pair competed in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) with Harris taking the stage name Alex Rotundo '''and later '''Duke Rotundo. His brother Bo followed his lead and used the name Bo Rotundo. At the FCW television tapings on July 23, The Rotundo Brothers defeated the Dude Busters (Caylen Croft and Trent Barretta) to become the number one contenders to the Florida Tag Team Championship."Florida Championship Wrestling (2009)". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved March 2, 2011. That same night, they defeated Justin Angel and Kris Logan for the Florida Tag Team Championship. They went on to successfully defend the championship against Dylan Klein and Vance Archer and the team of Curt Hawkins and Heath Slater. At the FCW television tapings on November 19, the Rotundos lost the championship to the Dude Busters. The Nexus (2010–2011) With championship experience under his belt, Harris entered and was accepted as a competitor in the second season of ''NXT'' on June 1, 2010, with Cody Rhodes as his mentor.Caldwell, James (June 1, 2010). "WWE News: NXT Results – Season Two announced, Pro & Rookie pairings revealed". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 1, 2010.Bishop, Matt (June 1, 2010). "WWE NXT: Barrett wins show's first season". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved June 2, 2010. Harris made his debut on the June 8 episode of NXT, competing in a tag team match with Rhodes against Montel Vontavious Porter and Percy Watson, which they lost.Bishop, Matt (June 8, 2010). "WWE NXT: New rookies pay as Season 2 opens". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved June 12, 2010. After a rocky start with his professional Cody Rhodes, Harris's temper surfaced on the June 22 episode of NXT when he attacked announcer Matt Striker. The following week, Harris lost to MVP in a singles match, and was ranked seventh out of the eight rookies in the first poll.Bishop, Matt (June 29, 2010). "WWE NXT: Surprise! First elimination on tap". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved June 30,2010. In the second poll, Harris moved up to sixth place, narrowly avoiding elimination.Bishop, Matt (July 27, 2010). "WWE NXT: Second rookie goes home; New No. 1". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved July 28, 2010 On August 9 the rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match on Raw, which Harris' team won when he pinned Kaval, but his team lost a rematch the following night on NXT.Plummer, Dale (August 10, 2010). "RAW: Team WWE makes a stand".Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 10, 2010.Bishop, Matt (August 10, 2010). "WWE NXT: Eliminations coming fast and furious". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. RetrievedAugust 11, 2010. In the poll later that night, Harris climbed to fourth place out of the six rookies. Harris was one of two rookies eliminated from NXT on August 17. Following his elimination, Harris and Rhodes attacked Kaval, resulting in a brawl also involving MVP and Kofi Kingston.Bishop, Matt (August 17, 2010). "WWE NXT: 2 more rookies sent packing as tensions rise". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. RetrievedAugust 18, 2010. Harris reappeared in the season finale of NXT with the other eliminated rookies and joined in on the attack on the NXT winner, KavalBishop, Matt (August 31, 2010). "WWE NXT: Kaval wins show's 2nd season, gets beat down". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved September 2, 2010.. References